Computers in Human Behavior 27 (2011) 160168

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Computers in Human Behavior

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh

Avatar-based innovation: Consequences of the virtual co-creation experience

Thomas Kohler a, Johann Fueller b, Daniel Stieger c, Kurt Matzler c,
a

Department of Management and Marketing, College of Business Administration, Hawaii Pacic University, 1132 Bishop Street, Suite 504-13, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA
HYVE AG, Schellingstrasse 45, Munich 80799, Germany
c
Department of Strategic Management, Marketing and Tourism, Innsbruck University School of Management, Universittsstrasse 15, Innsbruck 6020, Austria
b

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Available online 30 August 2010
Keywords:
Co-creation
Virtual worlds
Innovation

a b s t r a c t
Virtual worlds, such as the prominent Second Life (SL), offer unprecedented opportunities for companies
to tap the innovative potential of consumers and consumer communities. Despite the potential, the studied corporate open innovation initiatives fail to attract sustained engagement among co-creating participants. The underdeveloped state of these islands in terms of innovation tasks and the lack of knowledge
about how to attract innovative avatars raise key concerns about the nature of the experience avatars
have on corporate sites. In a quantitative study we examine the importance of the experience in encouraging active participation in the innovation tasks. When participants experience an inspiring, intrinsically
motivating, involving and fun co-creation experience, they participate more intensely. Prior research on
virtual new product development is extended to the virtual world context and insights of the virtual cocreation experience serve as guidelines for the conception of avatar-based innovation initiatives.
2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1. Introduction: avatar-based innovation

Faced with slow growth, global competition and heterogeneous
customer needs, innovation is viewed as critical for corporate success, but new product development is characterized by high risk
and high market failure (e.g. Sawhney, Wolcott, & Arroniz, 2006).
The main reason identied is the lack of market orientation (Ogawa
& Piller, 2006) and traditional market research seems to fail in
retaining customers needs and wants (von Hippel, 2001). Therefore, both theory and practice recommend collaborating with customers for the creation of new products (Alam, 2002; Fang,
Palmatier, & Evans, 2008; Gruner & Homburg, 2000). We dene
open innovation in the context of this paper as a customer-centric
innovation process, where value is co-created together with selected customers. Open innovation characterizes an innovation process where the customer is involved as a source for ideas, technical
solutions, design or even rst prototypes. Instead of the rm creating innovations and exchanging it with their customers, during
open innovation consumers take an active role and co-create value
together with the company (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004). Ever
since the emergence of the Internet, unique and inventive opportunities to capitalize on users innovative potential and knowledge
have emerged, resulting in various approaches to integrate consumers into new product development (Dahan & Hauser, 2002;
Corresponding author. Tel.: +43 512 507 7180.
E-mail addresses: thomas.kohler@uibk.ac.at (T. Kohler), johann.fueller@uibk.
ac.at (J. Fueller), daniel.stieger@avaty.com (D. Stieger), kurt.matzler@uibk.ac.at (K.
Matzler).
0747-5632/$ - see front matter 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
doi:10.1016/j.chb.2010.07.019

Nambisan, 2002). Recent Internet-based virtual reality technologies

like virtual worlds and its most prominent example Second Life
point out the latest technological developments. Virtual worlds like
Second Life are computer-generated physical spaces, represented
graphically in 3D that can be experienced by many users, or socalled avatars, at once. An avatar is the graphic representation of
the self in a given physical medium that other users can see or interact with in a virtual environment (Castranova, 2005).
Virtual worlds have created new ways to experience products
(Jiang & Benbasat, 2007) and herald the next leap of evolution
for open innovation. The potential is nurtured by two main reasons: First, incorporating the latest technological advances of virtual worlds into co-creation practice enriches existing web-based
customer integration methods by allowing real-time, media-rich
and highly interactive collaboration between manufacturers and
consumers. Inuenced by interactivity and media richness (e.g.
Steuer, 1992), virtual worlds increase telepresence (Suh & Lee,
2005), which is the sensation of being there in a mediated environment in time and place (Ijsselsteijn, de Ridder, Freeman, &
Avon, 2000). Finally, this leads to a closer and richer interaction between consumers and between consumers and actors inside the
company. Second, virtual worlds build on a new mode of production where the host rm (e.g. Linden Lab for Second Life) facilitates
unrestrained consumer freedom and empowerment (Bonsu &
Darmody, 2008). The built-in tools encourage users to iteratively
and interactively create almost anything imaginable, while sharing
the act of creation with other users. The playful environment,
allowing anyone to create nearly anything they can imagine and
look like nearly anyone they want to be, has proven to be fertile

T. Kohler et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 27 (2011) 160168

ground for many innovative thinkers. Therefore, user-generated

worlds resemble engines of creation that provide the freedom to
experiment and lead to unprecedented rates of innovation (Ondrejka, 2007). Virtual worlds creative activities have become more
visible and extensive and as the boundaries of the virtual and the
real-world dissolve, avatars might very well use their creativity
to design products with real-world potential (Hemp, 2006).
We use the term avatar-based innovation (ABI) to refer to an
interactive new product development process, in which manufacturers collaborate with virtual worlds avatars along the entire innovation process beginning with the identication of new trends and
unsatised needs and ending with the launch of new products and
the improvement of existing ones. The aim of the virtual collaboration for a specic task or during an entire product development cycle
is to generate superior and more customer-centered new products
and services, but also to provide value for its participants. Based
on virtual world technology and using open innovation mechanisms, consumers and manufacturers jointly develop innovations
in a media-rich and interactive environment. Several companies
have already tried to leverage the innovative potential especially
within Second Life and asked residents to engage in different innovation activities along various stages of the innovation process. For
example, Osram, a light manufacturer, started an idea contest and
invited Second Life residents to contribute ideas on the topic of
lightning. Toyota Scion launched a virtual car model and encouraged
participants to modify and customize their cars. Another example
demonstrating the numerous opportunities of virtual worlds for
innovation is the case of Aloft, a new hotel concept from Starwood
Hotels. Before the real hotel was built, a virtual mockup was discussed, evaluated, modied, and further developed in Second Life.
Based on the feedback, several changes to the overall design of Aloft
resulted. These changes have been applied both to the virtual and to
the physical hotels (Kohler, Matzler, & Fller, 2009).
To summarize, interactivity and media richness of virtual worlds
(e.g. Steuer, 1992) increase telepresence (Suh & Lee, 2005), i.e. the
sensation of being there (Ijsselsteijn et al., 2000). As a consequence, virtual worlds enable a closer and richer interaction and
unrestrained freedom and empowerment. This playful environment
can enhance creativity and innovation. The process of co-creation is
mainly inuenced by the user himself, and therefore also the experience largely depends on the participants themselves. This creates a
context that is highly different from traditional Internet applications. Therefore, in this study we aim at understanding how the
users co-creation experience inuences his future attitudes and
behavior regarding such activities.
2. Compelling co-creation experience
Regardless of the promising opportunities provided by avatarbased innovation, one major challenge impeding its development
is the lack of interest in corporate projects among avatars. The
overwhelming majority of avatar-based innovation pioneers is
challenged by too few interested participants and, therefore, too
few activities that make the place a vibrant source of great connections and innovations. The underdeveloped state of these islands
(also known as Sim),1 in terms of innovation tasks and the lack
of knowledge of how to attract innovative avatars, inhibit the companies from achieving their product development goals, which, in
turn, puts a damper on avatar-based innovation. On a general level,
many reports point toward nascent corporate presences being ghost
towns (Rose, 2007), and the Second Life community is more interested in their own homegrown activities (Au, 2006). An analysis of
1
In Second life, islands are privately owned and operated, separate from the
mainland. Islands can be purchased directly from existing owners or directly from
Lindon Lab. Islands then are usually customized to suit particular needs of the owner.

161

multiple companies experiments with avatars as a source of innovation conrmed the companies inability to attract sustained engagement among avatars. After all, for virtual co-creation the
participation of engaged customers is crucial. Evaluating these innovation initiatives on the basis of participation rates, they are far from
successful (Kohler et al., 2009).
One possible explanation for this shortcoming is that the pathnding companies fail to create a compelling experience for users
of virtual worlds. In this paper, we use the term compelling experience to refer to an experience that is characterized by intrinsic
enjoyment, engagement, and interest. Academics have both highlighted the need for a compelling experience (Fller & Matzler,
2007; Nambisan & Nambisan, 2008; Prahalad & Ramaswamy,
2003) and acknowledged the positive relationship with a number
of characteristics. Fller (2006) stresses the interaction experience
as a key motivator to join co-creation projects, and von Hippel and
Katz (2002) regard it as critical for inspiring consumers to make
creative contributions. Others such as Hoch (2002), Hoch and
Deighton (1989) or Jiang and Benbasat (2007) highlight the importance of such an experience for consumers ability to become
familiar with the innovation, discover its qualities, and learn from
self-generated, non-ambiguous experiences. Despite these implicit
endorsements of the topics importance, little empirical research
has examined the co-creation experience (Nambisan & Nambisan,
2008). Recently, academics have called for a focus on the interaction experience (Nambisan & Baron, 2007). This article tackles this
research task and explores how consumers experience co-creation
activities within a virtual world. We are especially interested in the
consequences of a compelling virtual world innovation experience.
Toward this aim, the article is structured as follows: rst, we
briey review relevant literature on co-creation to discuss the nature of the interaction experience in virtual worlds. Then we introduce our research setting before presenting the results of our
study, which focused on assessing the consequences of a compelling co-creation experience. Finally, we discuss the studys theoretical as well as practical implications.
3. Designing the co-creation experience
In the most general and broadest use of the term, experience is
the mental state that occurs in any given individual, at any conscious moment (Poulsson & Kale, 2004). For the purpose of this research, experience is understood as the content of direct
observation or participation in an event, specically in a co-creation process (Takatalo, Nyman, & Laaksonen, 2008). Experience is
a complex interplay of situations, the individual and the system
over time (Hassenzahl & Tractinsky, 2006) and designers of the virtual co-creation interaction do not control all aspects of the experience. While the setting, the atmospheric cues, can be provided
and largely controlled, the process or activities that occur within
this setting are mostly determined by the users and also the conception of the experience is created by the participants themselves
(Marsh, Wright, & Smith, 2001; Rijken, 1999). Understood this way,
users always have an experience whether good, bad or indifferent. To add a quality dimension to the co-creation experience, we
use the term compelling experience to refer to an experience that
is characterized by fun, intrinsic enjoyment and engagement. It is
the quality of experience consumers feel when involved in the creative activity which drives them to continue and keeps them motivated to perform at their best (Csikszentmihalyi, 2002). Enjoyable
and engaging experiences provide intrinsic value (Deci & Ryan,
1985), they offer a state of jouissance which people try to maintain and seek to repeat (Belk, Ger, & Askegaard, 2000).
For the web context, a number of studies address the user experience subject, but only a few recent studies focus on the co-creation context. Hoffman and Novak (1996b) proposed that creating a

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compelling website depends on facilitating a state of ow a term

introduced by Csikszentmihalyi (1977) to describe a highly enjoyable and rewarding optimal experience, in which challenge and
skills match. Flow has been applied to various online activities,
such as browsing (Novak, Hoffman, & Yung, 2000), playing games
(Chen, 2007; Hsu & Lu, 2004), or engaging in computer-mediated
communications (Ghani & Desphande, 1994). For the Internet context, additionally telepresence and interactivity are considered
antecedents of ow (Hoffman & Novak, 1996b).
Nambisan and his colleagues (Nambisan & Baron, 2007; Nambisan & Nambisan, 2008) studied customers actual interaction experiences in the limited context of online product forums. The
authors provide empirical support for Prahalad and Ramaswamys
(2003) assertion that the customers interactions in value co-creation can themselves be an important source of value. The extent to
which interactions in the virtual customer environment offer benets (cognitive, social integrative, personal integrative and hedonic) shape the actual participation. The results reveal that
customers actual experiences and their beliefs about the expected
benets signicantly inuence their actual continued participation
in such forums.
Due to the embryonic nature of virtual worlds and the fact that
academic research has only recently picked up, there is both a
dearth of studies that address issues concerning experiences in virtual worlds in general and for avatar-based innovation specically.
While ndings of studies concerned with the user experience on
the web may provide some interesting insight, the transfer is difcult, as virtual worlds are in many respects signicantly different
from the traditional web. Navigation in a 3D environment, avatar-mediated communication, user-generated nature, and interactivity with virtual tools pose unique issues for co-creation. As
Hoffman and Novak (2007) correctly point out in a recent update
of their paper that in examining ow in virtual worlds such as
Second Life, there are a number of ways in which our original conceptual model (Hoffman & Novak, 1996a) could be augmented:
The social context of virtual worlds, the increased interactivity,
the virtual representation of physical spaces, and the manipulation
opportunities especially demand a re-examination of the ow
understanding for the traditional web.
Before turning to the empirical study, we introduce the research
setting that was set up to study the consequences of compelling
co-creation experiences.
4. The research setting: ideation quest in Second Life
To shed light on the co-creation experience and its consequences, we started the ideation quest initiative in Second Life.
In three consecutive projects, the virtual environment featured
several stages and creative tasks within Second Life. Participants
were invited to immerse themselves in the problem context, explore inspirational stimuli, take part in creative challenges such
as word association and brainstorming, before submitting ideas
and evaluate other submissions (see Fig. 1). Implementing an avatar-based innovation project to generate insights on the interaction
experience was necessary, since existing corporate projects were
only frequented by a small number of avatars. In addition, the
interest of the approached companies in academic research was
rather limited. The virtual environment featured a number of very
specic design characteristics that resulted from insights generated in an exploratory netnographic study2 (Kozinets, 2002) of Second Life places and communities, complemented by formal and
informal discussions with expert residents. After this initial research
2
Netnography is an interpretative method based on traditions and techniques of
cultural anthropology, extended to the study of the consumer behaviour of cultures
and communities present on the internet.

phase we designed, realized, and conducted the project. The

elements and core characteristics are briey explained by deconstructing the process as it applies to the participants point of view.
A ve-step process was used to orchestrate the activities and
interactions among its participants.
Stage 1: Upon arrival, participants were welcomed and received
introductory information aiming to spark a sense of purpose and to
set the stage for the following activities. In the so-called welcome
area, one of our guide avatars introduced the functions and features of the ideation quest, the various stages participating avatars
have to master and supported means of communication and
interaction.
Stage 2: During the second stage of inspiration, participants
were confronted with informational and entertaining stimuli
material in the form of 3D content, pictures, or video. They were
confronted with an initial scenario, consisting of an immersive
environment that framed the problem (e.g. green energy in the
green ideation quest). We strived to appeal to multiple senses. Instead of describing the situation, we relied on 3D models. Consider
the green ideation quest: objects included a coal plant, an atomic
reactor, oil pump and overall the environment made a dirty energy impression. To stimulate participants creativity, the process
featured a number of challenges such as word association, knowledge questions and sentence-completion tasks. We extrapolated
the mechanism of collecting points from game design to tap into
the users competitive drive and provide feedback on their contributions. The users goal was to collect as many points as possible
along the different dimensions of (1) creativity, (2) collaboration,
and (3) expertise. Each task in the IQ allowed participants to earn
points on these dimensions in the one or other way. E.g. the word
association game increased the creativity score by one when mastered by dropping more than seven words. Knowledge question increased expertise and discussion tables collaboration points.
Furthermore, participants submissions could be rated by others
in the exhibition area.
Stage 3: Emphasizing the social nature of virtual worlds, semistructured group discussions were integrated to explore customer
needs, work out problems, or examine innovative opportunities.
An object called discussion table was employed to encourage discourse by planting conversations and provocative ideas. Each time
four participants sat around the table, the script triggered pre-dened question to stimulate the discussion.
Stage 4: During the idea-generation phase, avatars were asked
to visualize and express their ideas either in the form of a 3D model
or a text description and illustrative images. E.g. we integrated a
toolkit, which employed a module library, from which participants
could choose to visualize their own green idea. Additionally, the
Second Life building tools were available, so that participating avatars with comprehensive Second Life knowledge were not constrained. We made sure to encourage users to build by providing
space (sandbox), the integration of their creations into the inspiration stage and the display of their creations.
Stage 5: All ideas were displayed for the stage of idea review, in
which participants were able to review, comment on, and judge
other submissions for inspiration and to leverage the social community aspect. 3D models built with our toolkit as well as new
ideas or recommendations written on note cards were accepted.
In order to initiate a vibrant meeting place where participants
come back to interact with like-minded peers and discuss the topics related to the project, frequent events were conducted and updated information was sent to the community.
In summary, we built on four general components to facilitate a
compelling co-creation experience. (1) Immersion was encouraged
by addressing multiple senses of participants and promoting inspirational stimuli. Immersion was relevant for the communication of
product-related information and information concerning the

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163

Fig. 1. KTM ideation quest arrival and word-association (top), Philips ideation quest ideation platform and knowledge questions (middle), green ideation quest (to visit the
green ideation quest in Second Life: http://hyvebox.de/secondlife/).

system-usability. (2) A social component captured the manifold

interaction capabilities of virtual worlds. Especially community
interaction was promoted. (3) The humancomputer-interaction
component focused on usability and navigation concerns. And
nally (4), an entertainment component encouraged the competitive drive and added various challenges to the ideation quest.
Components and their features are summed up in Table 1.
The main benet of hosting the idea competition was a realistic
but also experimental setting, which we were able to adjust and
manipulate. By engaging participants in hands-on idea generation
and evaluation rather than hypothetical scenarios, the experiment
added more realism. Besides integrating in-depth interviews and
an online survey, we were able to observe and track participants
behaviors allowing the exploration of avatars experience and
behavior in-depth. To add further realism we collaborated with
two companies to conduct the rst two projects: KTM, world leading producer of motocross motorcycles, and Philips, Europes largest manufacturer of consumer electronics. The topics for the idea
generation were chosen accordingly (Table 2).
A total of 599 avatars visited the three ideation quest projects in
Second Life, which took place in summer 2008 and spring 2009.
However, we only considered those avatars that spent more than
ten minutes on the site as ideation quest participants. Visitors
spending less time were regarded as explorers who either randomly teleported into this area or came with the intention to visit
other activities on the same island. Details on the three projects are
given in Table 2. While the rst two projects were mainly to gain
more insights into the design requirements for compelling experiences, the participants of the third project the green ideation
quest were the respondents to the questionnaire of the empirical
study.

5. Consequences of the virtual co-creation experience conceptual framework

In this study we seek to shed light on the role of a compelling
experience for effective co-creation. The applied conceptual framework and derived hypotheses are based on the ow theory, research on co-creation experience, and creativity literature.
For the web context, Hoffman and Novak (1996b) proposed that
creating a compelling website depends on facilitating a state of ow.
Compelling experience, similarly to ow or peak experience is characterized by intrinsic enjoyment (Hoffman & Novak, 1996b). It is
considered as extremely gratifying (Novak et al., 2000, p. 22),
engaging, and highly involving (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Consumers completely immerse themselves in the activity. They no longer
differentiate between the virtual and the physical world, between
real and virtual yet to be realized innovations (Biocca, 1992;
Schlosser, 2003; Schlosser, 2006). As a compelling experience is
extremely gratifying (Novak et al., 2000, p. 22), enjoyable, and
engaging, it causes a number of positive consequences. For example,
it attracts consumers and positively inuences attitudes and behaviors (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Csikszentmihalyi, 2002; Deighton &
Grayson, 1995; Mathwick & Rigdon, 2004; Novak et al., 2000).
Ideally, co-creation projects offer consumers such optimal and
compelling experiences (Piller & Walcher, 2006).
Time and contribution: Optimal and compelling experiences lead
to increased persistence and interest in activities (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Participants try to maintain and re-experience compelling, ow-like experiences. Such an experience encourages
consumers to be highly creative and perform at peak levels
(Csikszentmihalyi, 2002; Deci & Ryan, 2002). During ow-like
experiences, people reach unconscious, playful levels of thought

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T. Kohler et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 27 (2011) 160168

Table 1
Components and their features in the ideation quest.
Component

How the IQ addressed the requirement/key feature

Offer product-related information, information regarding underlying

technologies or it s usage

Welcome area: billboards with product-Information, product-related videos, virtual

product prototype
Product course: virtual product prototypes, knowledge questions, 3D models
Toolkita: various parts, product framework, product information
Exhibition area: interacting with other participants and company representatives,
rating system

Enable customers to perceive themselves as members of a group or community

Welcome area: gathering place

Discussion tables: guided discussions with participants and community members
Exhibition area: built prototypes, talkative environment, commenting system, rating
system
Tours: fostering talkative environment, shaping participants expectations
Events: fostering talkative environment, shaping participants expectations
SL group tools: group forum
Expert users, company stuff and community members: guiding and fostering discussions

Quality of the humancomputer interactions

Island design: open space and spacious buildings

The road and road signs: navigation hint and location reference
Teleportersb: direct access to target destinations
Guides: assistance and explanations
Events and tours: introduction and advice

Mentally stimulating or entertaining, a source of pleasure and enjoyment

Word association: creativity game

Knowledge questions: knowledge challenge
Virtual prototypes: try and error functions
Toolkit: building challenge
Idea-box: idea submission, rating and commenting
Discussion tables: mutual avatar rating

a
Toolkits are internet based systems that assist customers to perform webbed customer innovation, they enable customers to both express their input and to nd creative
ideas for a desire or need.
b
A teleport is an instant change of your locations.

Table 2
Project details.
Project Name

KTM ideation quest

Philips ideation quest

Green ideation quest

Topic
Company involvement
Project start/end
Second Life Island
Avatars joining project
Time spent on average
Research conducted

The future motor biking experience

KTM motorcycle AG
6/13/20087/16/2008
ui2 campus island
166
76 minutes
Qualitative interviews
Participant monitoring

Sustainable living in the year 2020

Philips design
6/20/20087/16/2008
Philips island
167
80 minutes
Qualitative interviews
Participant monitoring

Ideas for a more sustainable future

None
2/23/20093/20/2009
ui2 campus island
266
85 minutes
Qualitative interviews
Participant monitoring
Quantitative survey

considered as vital for innovative outputs (Csikszentmihalyi, 2002;

Deci & Ryan, 2002). This leads to the rst set of hypothesis:
H1: Compelling experience has a positive impact on participants actually spent time.
H2: Compelling experience has a positive impact on the amount
of participants contributed content.
Further interest: Consumers interest in further engaging in
co-creation activities is inuenced by consumers previous experiences associated with the activity. Positive experience and successful outcomes stimulate future interest in co-creation activities.
Negative experience and failures, as conrmation of incompetence,
lead to frustration and decreased motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985;
Deci & Ryan, 2002). Playful and enjoyable activities provide value
(Deci & Ryan, 1985). They offer a state of jouissance which people try to maintain and seek to repeat (Belk et al., 2000). It is the
quality of experience creative consumers feel when involved in
the activity which drives them to continue and keeps them
motivated (Csikszentmihalyi, 2002). We state:
H3: Compelling experience has a positive effect on participants
interest in future participation.

Word-of-mouth and evangelism: Individuals tend to share positive and negative experiences with others if the topic is important
to them and they consider it also of interest to others (Gruen,
Osmonbekov, & Czaplewski, 2007; Porter & Donthu, 2008). Literature on electronic word-of-mouth has found that consumers engage in communicating their experiences with products or
services to others via the web for a number of reasons: their desire
for social interaction, economic incentives, their concern for other
consumers, and the potential to enhance their own self-worth are
the primary factors that lead to eWOM behavior (Hennig-Thurau,
Gwinner, Walsh, & Gremler, 2004). Hence, word-of-mouth is a
vehicle for the individuals that helps to materialize these desires
or states. However, a positive and rewarding consumption experience is an important requirement. Consumers engage in positive
word of mouth if they associate enjoyable and rewarding experiences with it (Porter & Donthu, 2008). In our context, therefore,
it is more likely that consumers who have experienced a rewarding
and compelling co-creation process or episode will recommend it
to friends. Recent marketing literature, however, argues that
word-of-mouth does not comprehensively capture the missionary
intention of delighted, committed, and devoted customers. Pimentel and Reynolds (2004) have shown that truly devoted consumers
not only spread positive word of mouth but eventually engage in

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recruiting in order to actively convince others of their beloved

brand. Rozanski, Baum, and Wolfsen (1999) portray the actions
of brand zealots whose extreme loyalty and emotionality towards
their favorite brand can inspire them to extreme acts: Some loyal
consumers experience a relationship that goes well beyond the fulllment of a functional need. They are militant in their commitment to their brand: creating positive word of mouth for the
brand, experiencing the product to its fullest and, if defrauded,
launching frontal attacks on the company . . . These brand zealots
have the potential to become the brands biggest allies or, at the
other extreme, a renegade army . . . Their strong feelings result in
attempts to convert others, ultimately causing changes in public
opinion or legislation (Rozanski et al., 1999).
Based on this evidence, we propose the term co-creation evangelism for describing a more active and committed way of spreading positive opinions and trying fervently to convince or persuade
others to get engaged in the co-creation project. By choosing the
word evangelism we would like to emphasize the missionary component of this type of consumer behavior (Matzler, Pichler, &
Hemetsberger, 2007) after experiencing a compelling interaction.
Thus, we state:
H4: Compelling experience has a positive impact on participants intended evangelism.
Intention to live more sustainably: A compelling experience positively affects someones attitude (Hoffman & Novak, 1996b; Hoffman & Novak, 2007). Participants who co-create creative content
become familiar with it. They may at the same time become interested in and attached to it (Belk, 1988). Familiarity and knowledge
lead to increased levels of involvement and commitment
(Pritchard, Havitz, & Howard, 1999). This is especially the case if
participants associate a compelling experience with it (Schouten,
McAlexander, & Koenig, 2007). Consumers may become aware
and enthusiastic about the content they co-design and co-create
(Pine & Gilmore, 1999). In our case, they may intend to live more
sustainably. Literature on mass-customization, for example, states
that consumers will show high interest in and willingness to pay
for their self-designed products if they enjoy the design process
due to a ow experience (Franke & Piller, 2004). We state:
H5: Compelling experience has a positive effect on participants
intention to live more sustainably.
6. Empirical study
To test the developed hypotheses, we conducted an online survey in which we asked avatars who previously engaged in the third
avatar-based innovation project the green ideation quest about
their experience and intention of future participation and about
their interest in persuading others to join the project. Additionally,
active participation and commitment was measured by observing
the time spent on the island and the words written in chats and
brainstorming sessions. Out of all 266 green ideation quest participants, 114 completed the survey. This corresponds to a total return rate of 42.8% for the survey. The high participation rate was
achieved by asking avatars, who spent time in the green ideation
quest, for survey participation via personal instant message. In
addition we offered a donation of USD 5 per participant to a nonprot organization and LD 300 (= USD 1.10) for each participant.
On average, the age of the participants of the survey is 1.5 years.
With a self-provided Second Life skill-level of 3.54 on average
(1 = newbie, 5 = expert), our data indicate that not only expert
users participated in our survey. However, the majority of participants can be considered as highly involved residents of Second Life.
On the familiarity with SL functionality scale our sample shows

165

an average of 3.68 (1 = basic, 5 = sophisticated). Twenty-ve avatars said that building is their preferred activity in SL, 28 concerned
with learning activities, and 27 prefer socializing. Attending live
performances (eight avatars), scripting (four avatars) and other
activities (22 avatars) account for the rest of the sample. Fifty-six
avatars have been in SL for one year or less, 44 have been in SL
for 2 years and 14 have been in SL for three years or even longer.
More female (63) than male (51) participants answered the
questionnaire.
6.1. Measures
Three indicators were adopted from Delle Fave and Massimini
(1988) and another two indicators from Fller (2008) to measure
compelling experience. We have chosen ve items to operationalize compelling experience covering the enjoying, emerging and
involving aspect of it. The intention to engage in future co-creation
activities was measured with two items similar to Bagozzi and
Warshaw (1990), Barki and Hartwick (1994), and Loken (1983).
Three items from the Evangelism scale as suggested by Matzler
et al. (2007) have been taken and adapted to the context of this
study. The three items to measure intention to live more sustainably are based on Ajzen (2006). All items were measured on a vepoint Likert scale (1 = strongly agree, 5 = strongly disagree). All
incorporated measurement models are reective. Additionally active participation was operationalized with two measures, time
and words written. The time avatars spent on the project island
was observed with sensors, which generate timestamps per minute. The dialogue between avatars in brainstorming sessions was
recorded; words were counted with software and assigned to the
corresponding avatar name. Thus, we were able to measure actual
active participation instead of felt active participation (Ghani &
Desphande, 1994).
6.2. Data analysis and results
Because validated measures known from literature have been
either directly applied or only slightly adapted, conrmatory factor
analysis could be used to determine the psychometric properties of
the measures. First, reliability and validity of the measures in the
measurement model were tested to calculate the composite reliability of the constructs, the average variance extracted (Fornell
& Larcker, 1981), and the FornellLarcker-Ratio (1981) for discriminant validity. The results are displayed in Table 3.
Besides discriminant validity for compelling experience
(FLR = 1.1), the local t measures for the applied constructs
meet all required standards concerning average variance extracted
(>.5), composite reliability (>.6), and discriminant validity (FornellLarcker-Ratio <1) (Chin, 1998). Compelling experience highly
correlates with further interest. Therefore, discriminant validity is
not given between these constructs. However, as further interest
and future activities are conceptually different, both strongly depend on previous experiences, and the face validity of applied
items to measure compelling experience and further interest seem
to be high, we are condent that the high correlation is based on
the strong relationship between experiences and further interest
rather than on measurement bias.
Next, multiple t indices were examined to evaluate the overall
causal model. The v2 test is not signicant. Satisfactory ts are obtained as the GFI, CFI, NFI, TLI, and IFI are greater than or equal to
.9, and the RMSEA is less than .08 (Bentler & Bonnett, 1980; Chin &
Todd, 1995). The test statistics of our model provide the following
results: v2 = 86.30; df = 72, p = .120; v2/df = 1.199; NFI = .905; CFI =
.982; TLI = .978; IFI = .983; GFI = .901; AGFI = .855; RMSEA = .042.
Overall, the model indicates a good t to the data. Main effects:
The results given in Fig. 2 provide support for all hypotheses

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T. Kohler et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 27 (2011) 160168

Table 3
Psychometric properties of scales.
Construct

Item

Indicator
loadings

Mean
(SD)

Compelling experience (CR = .88, AVE = .59,

FLR = 1.10)

1. The idea quest helped me to get inspired

.75

2.19

2.
3.
4.
5.

.84
.72
.73
.79

2.26
2.46
2.27
2.31

Participating in ideation quest led to the result that . . .

1. . . . I intend to engage in the future with the ideas of the ideation quest
2. . . . I would like to further contribute to the development of the ideation
quest

.90
.75

2.18
2.45

Evangelism (CR = .78, AVE = .54, FLR = .98)

1. I would make a perfect sustainable living salesperson

2. I try to convince as many as possible of sustainable living
3. If someone tries to decry sustainable living, I will tell him off unmistakably

.66
.85
.67

3.12
2.6
2.78

Intention to act (CR = .83, AVE = .71, FLR = .46)

After participating in idea quest,

1. I will try to consume less energy
2. I am more aware of the pollution problem

.73
.96

1.83
2.06

Further interest (CR = .81, AVE = .69, FLR = .96)

I enjoyed the mere participation

I got involved
I enjoyed the experience, and/or the use of my skills
Participation was fun

Time spent

Minutes spent

90.19

Contribution

Words contributed

292.6

H1H5 tested. Compelling experience positively effects further

interest (c = .83***), evangelism (c = .77***), intention to act
(c = .61***), time spent (c = .23*), and contributed words (c = .16+.).
7. Discussion and conclusion
7.1. Theoretical contributions
This research contributes to a theoretical understanding of a
new medium for co-creation during an open innovation process.
Original to this study is the concept of avatar-based innovation,
which was used as a starting point to advance the perspective that
virtual worlds present opportunities for companies to engage with
customers in new and interesting ways during co-creation.
Through exploring the consequences of the co-creation experience
in virtual worlds, this study establishes the importance of the virtual co-creation experience and is an early step on the path toward
a more comprehensive understanding of consumer behavior in
these new media environments. A compelling co-creation experience leads participants to spend more time on an avatar-based

innovation platform. This time is not passively spent, but our ndings indicate that more content is added to the innovation project.
A compelling experience further leads to increased persistence and
interest in further co-creation activities (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990),
which is considered an important prerequisite for creative input
and promising solutions (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Csikszentmihalyi, 2002; Dahl & Moreau, 2007).
In addition, someones engagement in a virtual co-creation project also leads to higher awareness and mobilizes ones desire to
act on the topic discussed. As pointed out in other studies (Hoffman & Novak, 1996b; Hoffman & Novak, 2007), a compelling experience positively affects participants attitudes towards the
considered topic. We demonstrated in our study that a compelling
experience has a positive effect on participants intention to live
more sustainably. Participants become more aware of the pollution
problem and intend to act more sustainably by wasting less energy
in our case. This could be seen as strong indicator that behavior
and action in virtual worlds also inuence real life behavior of participants and their attitudes.
7.2. Managerial implications

Fig. 2. Consequences of a compelling co-creation experience. Notes: Chi2 = 86.30;

df = 72, p = .120; Chi2/df = 1.199; NFI = .905; CFI = .982; TLI = .978; IFI =
.983;GFI = .901; AGFI = .855; RMSEA = .042; *** p < .001; ** p < .01, * p < .05, +p < .10

This study indicates several areas of action for managers. The rst
implication refers to embracing avatar-based innovation. Using the
latest technological advances can help leverage a rms innovation
process, both by harvesting the medium-related benets, and by
tapping into avatars creativity. Given the illustrated potential, managers need to acquaint themselves with the phenomenon of virtual
worlds and consider using avatars as equal partners in the new product development process. The second implication relates to the need
for open innovation practitioners to fully acknowledge the importance of the co-creation experience. If companies decide to use an
avatar-based innovation strategy, they must recognize that an invitation for avatars to actively participate in co-creation is not enough.
Present corporate activities in virtual worlds imply that the critical
challenge to use the emerging technology is not so much in devising
the technological infrastructure but in creating and maintaining a
rewarding experience for visitors. Companies need to go beyond
implementing the visual presence and instead seek to actively engage customers by recognizing their motivations and delivering
benet to them. Developers should endeavour to emphasize intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic motivation. The inhabitants of

T. Kohler et al. / Computers in Human Behavior 27 (2011) 160168

virtual worlds want to be engaged and involved and, therefore, provide a fertile ground for creative activities. The key to becoming successful in virtually collaborating with customers will depend on the
ability to aggregate participants, retain them and encourage them to
make contributions.

7.3. Limitations, future research and conclusions

There are limitations to this study that point toward promising
future research avenues. One limitation of this study can be seen
in the studys participants. Since a non-commercial setting with a
general topic of interest was chosen for the ideation quest, a non
representative Second Life audience was attracted. Therefore, the results cannot be generalized without any reservation to commercial
innovation projects. Future research should focus on antecedents
of a compelling co-creation experience. It would be of interest which
features and components of the described ideation quest platform in
this study have the strongest impact on the compelling co-creation
experience and how the experience can be enriched.
In conclusion, virtual worlds offer an inspiring perspective for
enhancing innovation activities through collaborating with customers. Firms recognition of the customer as a valuable partner
in an open and interactive approach to innovation has extended
to the emerging technology of virtual worlds. With the right approach, companies can enhance their innovation efforts by learning
how to engage and co-create with avatars the latest visual representation of their potential or actual customers.

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